Return of Dinobot
by Silver Fox Trot
Summary: With victory in sight, Optimus could only watch in horror as Dinobot II chose to go down with the Nemesis to atone for the sins he committed, having regained his honor in his final moments. To bad Transmetal II's were made of sterner stuff.
1. Discovery

Return of Dinobot

Summary: at the end of the Beast Wars, after Rampage died alongside Depthcharge, he finally gains a whole spark, along with Dinobots' memories. In his final moments, he helps Optimus Primal and his Maximals. In the end, he chose to go down with the Nemesis, once more a hero in his last moments of life. Or were they?

Characters; Dinobot/Dinobot II/G1 cast

Setting: Sometime in G1, no particular time, most likely before the Movie, though.

Genre; Action/Adventure/Friendship

Rating; Unknown for now, T to be safe

AN; If you are confused about how Beast Wars and G1 are connected, see the note at the bottom

Disclaimer; I do not own Transformers or any of its related items. If I did, you could have bet your ass that Dinobot would most likely not have died in the first place and that if he had, then Dinobot II would have taken Optimus' offer of leaving a crashing ship and gotten an awesome Technorganic body!

* * *

Chapter 1, Discovery

_Corrupt data found. Core processor rebooting and regenerating.

* * *

_

Deep under the earth, beneath tons of bedrock and sedimentary soil, rested the largest Decepticon war ship, the Nemesis. Even millions of years after the ship was lost, Autobots still shuddered at the very mention of its name, such was its power.

It was believed that when the Autobots and Decepticons had battled above a primitive planet that it had not withstood atmospheric entry and had been destroyed.

Little did anyone know that the ship had survived almost entirely intact and with a stasis-locked passenger too.

* * *

_Regeneration 15% complete._

"_Destroy them!"_

"…_Negative."_

"_What? What possible-

* * *

_

"_Yeeesssss. From now on I shoot my salad before I eat it!"

* * *

_

Mining Director Daniel Irving looked on with pride as he saw his crew hard at work, sifting through tons of ore for valuable metallic ore and a few precious stones.

The Sisko Mine was not very large, as mines went, but it made more than enough to turn a decent profit. It also helped that it had not had an encounter with the Decepticons, unlike those ruby mines to the south.

Just as he was about to head back to his trailer to tackle the massive amount of paperwork that helped keep the mine open and the miners paid, he got a call on his radio.

"Mr. Irving, sir?" said the hesitant voice of his assistant director, Allen Simmons, over the radio.

Daniel frowned. Since when did his headstrong and cocky assistant get so timid? Pushing aside that though, he grabbed his radio and answered impatiently.

"What is it, Allen? I'm a little busy, can't this wait?"

Silence.

"No, sir. There's something here that you _really _want to see."

Daniel sighed.

"Was there an accident?"

"No, nothing happened, but the blasters found something and I think you should see it for yourself."

"Fine. Have one of your men wait by the shaft for me. This better be important, I have better things to do than indulge in the curiosity of workers."

"Trust me, it's worth it."

* * *

_Regeneration 23% complete._

"_- save yourself!"_

"_Farewell, _**data tracks corrupted**_."

* * *

_

"_Like I said, you're just a blasted, slag-spouting saurian, but…it's nice to know where you stand."_

"_Upwind of you, for preference, vermin."

* * *

_

One state over and twelve hours later, Prowl was sitting at his desk, going over the messages going to and coming from the American government. Most of the communiqués were Low Priority, mostly requests by state officials for meetings and PR appearances.

Only one was flagged as Highest Priority. It was a letter from the Autobots official liaison.

_Re: Alien Tech Found_

_Late on Friday the 12__th__, in a mine in the state of California, miners found something that resembles Cybertronian technology. We request that you send some of your soldiers to come and verify. All non-essential personnel have been evacuated from the area as well as people from nearby towns, because of possible health and safety concerns presented by a possible Decepticon attack. The military are prepared to mobilize, but it has not yet been deployed, so as not to alert the Decepticons._

_We await your response._

_American/Autobot Liaison, _

_Sarah Lennox_

Alarmed, Prowl quickly sent a message that the Autobots would be deploying immediately. Even though he was technically going over his superiors' head, he knew that Optimus would send a team. No one wanted the Cons' to get their hands on anything that could help them win the war.

Leaving his office to find his commander, Prowl opened a com line to his leader.

"Prowl to Optimus Prime." Even as the he was initiating the cal, Prowl was already heading for the bridge to find Optimus.

"Optimus here. Is there something wrong, Prowl?"

"Possibly. It would appear that some human miners have found something of possible Cybertronian origin." Prowl rounded a corner hurriedly, narrowly avoiding Wheeljack, who was carrying some boxes in his hands.

Optimus was silent for a few seconds.

"Any description of what it could be?"

"No, but it's probably something big, or else the humans would have most likely sent it to us. Given its proximity to the _Ark_, it could be some debris from when we battled the _Nemesis_." By now, Prowl stood in front of the doors that led to the bridge, waiting for them to open. "I sent the humans a message that we would send a team."

Prowl turned off his com as he entered and faced his leader, who was exuding an aura of confidence.

"Good job, Prowl. Did you have anyone particular in mind?"

On one of Teletraans monitors, Optimus pulled up a list of available mechs. Prowl studied the list intently.

"Jazz, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe, in case the 'Cons decide to show up. Wheeljack, he should be able to certify its origins." Just as he said that, there was a loud explosion that rocked the entire ship. The alarms started flashing and mechs everywhere dropped what they were doing and prepared for battle.

"Prowl, check the scanners, find out where that blast came from!" ordered Optimus. "Hound, stop those alarms, Bluestreak, you-"

Just then, Ratchet interrupted Prime's orders over ship wide comms.

"False alarm. Wheeljack just blew up his lab."

Everyone relaxed and went back to what they had been doing before, Wheeljack blowing up his lab was a regular occurrence, one that gave them semi-regular practice, just in case the 'Cons ever decided to attack the base.

"Well, I guess we can forget Wheeljack, Prime said ruefully.

"Perceptor would be a good choice to verify anything we find," suggested Optimus, scanning the list to find a suitable replacement for Wheeljack.

Prowl nodded. "That should be fine."

He was already turning to leave when Prime said; "I'll be going as well," causing Prowl to freeze in surprise.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir? Your being there might attract the attentions of the Decepticons. It would make for a tempting target."

"Just as sure that an envoy of Autobots will also gain their attention. While I'm gone, you'll be in charge, Prowl. I'll keep you informed if we need any back up."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

_Regeneration 42% complete._

"_What possible reason could you have to disobey me? I am your master! I am your creator!"_

"_And I…have my honour!"

* * *

_

"_Well fought, my friend. You saved the valley. You saved the lives of those who live here… and of those who are still to come."

* * *

_

Several hours later and one state over, Optimus Prime and his team of Autobots stood that the entrance of a mine, along with a nervous-looking Director Daniel Irving and a serious-looking Colonel Sharp, a representative from the military, who was there to call in back-up if the Decepticons showed up.

"We'll take the equipment elevator down, but I'm afraid that there isn't enough room for all of you," Colonel Sharp pointed out as the group headed towards the large elevator.

Optimus took one look and came to the same conclusion.

"Agreed, Perceptor, Jazz, and I will accompany you. The others will remain above ground. Alert us immediately if the Decepticons show up."

In the elevator, Perceptor looked at the director.

"What makes you think whatever it is you found our technology, Mr. Irving?"

The nervous director swallowed and looked at the science-bot before answering.

"Well, it survived a large blast of C4 with no damage to show, we were blowing a new tunnel when the workers found it." He took a deep breath as they went deeper and deeper. "Then there was the fact that none of my people could tell what the metal was made out of."

The elevator came to a stop as they reached the level and the director opened the doors and everyone got out. It was a large tunnel, with more than ample room to allow even Optimus Prime to stand up straight without touching the ceiling.

"We also tried to open a hole with a blow torch, nada. Then we noticed that there was some kind of writing. It didn't look like any writing system I've ever seen before, and somehow I doubt some teens managed to make their way down here to graffiti it."

At this point, they had reached their destination, a large sheet of unmarked metal blocking the end of the tunnel.

Optimus Prime nodded at Perceptor, who walked forward and began to examine it with some of his tools.

After several seconds, the mech turned towards his leader.

"I have come to the conclusion that this is unquestionably of Cybertronian origin. Based on its quality, I would assume that it is either a shuttlecraft or a ship, most likely of Decepticon origin. I would need a look inside in order to come to a proper conclusion."

Everyone looked at Prime, waiting for his orders.

"Very well. Perceptor cut us out a door, carefully," ordered Optimus, who then turned to the two humans accompanying them. "Colonel Sharp, Director Irving, I would request that you remain here."

Sharp scowled at the large 'bot before responding.

"We humans may be small and fleshy, Optimus Prime, but I assure you, we can take care of ourselves."

Ignoring both of them, Perceptor dutifully started to cut a hole into the ship, with Jazz looking on in mild interest.

"It is not that I doubt your ability, Colonel Sharp. It is just that we are unsure of the condition of the interior and its defences. They could be deactivated or just as likely, they could be armed and ready to fire." Optimus pointed out. "The fewer people in there if the defences come on, the easier it will be for us to counter it."

The Colonel was quiet for a moment, mulling over this, while Optimus watched Perceptor finish making an opening.

"Fine," agreed Colonel Sharp, "But the moment you have this…this vessel, secured, my men and I are coming in. Take it or leave it."

"Agreed."

Just then, a large _clang_ announced that Perceptor had finished making them an entrance, Optimus looked at the two bots with him; silently asking them if they were prepared. Perceptor nodded in response and Jazz gave him a grin. They were ready.

* * *

_Regeneration 77% complete._

"_Wait! Need plan! _**Data tracks corrupted**_ in charge!"_

"_I __**am**__ the plan!"

* * *

_

"_Fear not Optimus! I shall ensure your funeral is a glorious one, as befits a warrior who died in battle!"_

"'_Fraid I'll have to miss it, _**data tracks corrupted**_; I'm not scrap yet!"_

"_Hmm, are you certain? It would be a triumphant passage."

* * *

_

Optimus took point, his rifle held securely in front of him, with his headlights providing some illumination. Perceptor was behind him, recording anything that could possibly help him identify why the ship was where it was. Jazz took the rear, careful scanning behind them so as not to be caught unawares by whatever security systems were still active.

So far, none of the ships' security systems appeared to be functional, although they had not seen any signs of damage.

It almost looked as if the ship had been abandoned.

Finally, the small group arrived at the bridge of the ship or rather what was left of it.

Jazz whistled, "Looks like Hurricane Dancin' Dinobot swept through here before she crashed!"

Optimus silently agreed with his Special Ops commander, but he kept it to himself, being more intent on the carnage around him.

"Jazz, Perceptor, see if you can find a console that might have survived. Hopefully there are records that haven't been destroyed or corrupted."

The three bots each took separate areas to begin their search; carefully trying to avoid the wreckage, but that was easier said than done.

More often than not, Optimus found himself having to use his colossal strength to move pieces that were too large to go around and not strong enough to hold his weight. While Jazz was having by far the easiest time, which was not surprising from someone as ninja-like as he was. Perceptor was a mix between the two, not as agile as Jazz, but not nearly as heavy as his leader. Just then, something caught Jazz' eye.

* * *

_Regeneration 87% complete._

"_Now we play…for real!"

* * *

_

"_If there was a clone, then where is he, huh?_

"_I'm afraid he's gone for good. A shame really; he was such a handsome creature. And…quite tasty."_

"…_You're disgusting."

* * *

_

"I found a working station, Optimus," called Jazz from his part of the room.

Optimus looked over, but he could barely see the 'bot through the wreckage.

"Can you access it?"

A loud screech of tearing metal reached his audios, but Prime had barely taken a step forward when he heard his friend answer.

"Yeah, the display is scrap, but if I hook up to it directly, I should be able to download the info."

"I would not recommend it, Jazz. If this is a Decepticon ship, then its computers are bound to have strong firewalls," pointed out Perceptor. "It would be more prudent to take it with us back to base and allow someone who has the proper tools to it."

"I can handle it! It'll be just like infiltratin' the 'Con base in Kaon!"

"That may be true," Optimus admitted, "however, you had the proper tools at the time. Besides, if your processor is damaged, Ratchet will have to replace it." Optimus almost smiled at the look of horror that was growing on his old friend's face. "We both know how much he dislikes unnecessary repairs."

"On second thought, maybe we could bring it back to base."

Optimus and Perceptor shared a smile. It was a rare day when a mech was able to outmanoeuvre the quick-witted infiltrator.

"Are you guys comin'? I won't be able to remove this thing by myself!"

Jazz started moving some debris, but he lost his balance and all Pit broke loose.

* * *

**Regeneration interrupted. Initiating immediate restart, starting survival program.

* * *

**

AN

And that's the end of chapter 1 of 3, hope you guys like, and I promise you guys, that this story will be completed. Why do I say that when I've said this hundreds if time before? Because I took precautions, this story is already completed! And I will get back to working on my other projects soon. O know I haven't updated in forever, but as some of you know, 2009 was a very rough year for me and I'm just now getting out of this funk.

For those of you who haven't read my bio to find out why, here's the short list.

My father was hospitalized 3 times before he passed away, my mother had a heart attack, her sister was in a motorcycle accident and broke her pelvis a month before my father passed, another one of her sisters nearly died on the operating table a week after my father passed and was hospitalized for over a month because of complications, I nearly ran into something the size of Optimus Prime at 1ookph because the driver was tried to drive British-style on an American-style road, I had to put two dogs to sleep and one of my cats died as I could only watch and try to comfort her.

*Looks at the list above* Ummmmm, I think that's pretty much it. So...yeah...methinks any of those are a good enough excuse to not write for a while. But wanna hear the good news?

Reviews make me want to write more! It true, for those beloved reviewers who asked about my father and my fics, let me just tell you that you were a big help in getting this fic done. Every time I got one, it gave me the urge to work on my fics for a little while.

Next chapter will be posted next Thursday!


	2. Nemesis

Chapter 2, Nemesis

* * *

One second Jazz was moving pieces of debris; the next, he found himself flat on his back, with _something_ on his chest-plate. Before he could get a good look at it, however, it jumped off and vanished into the debris around him.

"Jazz!" Optimus yelled, who had only seen Jazz fall, "are you all right?"

"Watch out, Prime! There's somethin' in here, and I don't think it's friendly!"

Immediately Optimus and Perceptor took out their respective weapons and started scanning for whatever had attacked Jazz.

"Did you get a visual on it, Jazz?" asked Optimus. He was making his way to the centre of the room, where most of the debris was cleared. This would allow him more room to manoeuvre in case of attack.

"Sorry, Boss-bot, it got away before I could. All I can say is that it is small and fast," replied the Special Ops bot, finally getting up. He was scanning the area where the thing had escaped to.

"Jazz," started Perceptor, "do you think it was one of the ship's defensive systems? Or maybe some creature that managed to find its way in here through another opening?"

Jazz thought over his short encounter for barely a second before he came up with an answer.

"No, it was too fast and large to have been a defence drone. I may not have _seen_ it, but I sure felt it. Without a doubt, it was made out of some kind of metal."

_CLANK! _

Immediately the trio turned to look at what had caused the noise. Their fingers were tight on the triggering mechanisms of their weapons, but they had trained enough to stop them from shooting something as a reaction.

They barely had time to turn before they heard another loud _clank_ at the other end of the room.

"Argh," growled Jazz in frustration, "how many of them are there?"

There was another _clang_, but this one came from the hallway that the Autobots had come from.

"It's heading for the exit!" concluded Perceptor, who was still knee-deep in debris.

"The humans are out there!" Optimus tried to open a comlink with one of the humans' primitive communications devices, but his signal was unable to penetrate through the thick bedrock.

"Jazz, Perceptor, I'll go and protect the humans. You stay here and see if there aren't any more of them," Optimus ordered as he transformed into vehicle mode and started rolling towards the exit.

"You got it, Optimus. Now that we know it's there, it won't get the jump on us again."

* * *

_Dangerous here, It concluded. Big things with powerful weapons, better to leave and survive than perish underground._

_What was this place? Too big, made It feel small. It hated that feeling, It wanted out. It couldn't get out last time, but maybe this time? The surface It was walking on was metal familiar, something that comforted It slightly._

_Something odd came into Its focus, it was oddly shaped, with unfamiliar curved edges, not like the straight lines that could be found everywhere in the metalplace. A hole? The word sounded odd in Its processor, but the next one was better. An exit._

_Something that would lead outside metalplace? It hesitated. An echo of an echo of a memory was brought up in his mind's eye. Another hole, another time, but something in the middle, asking it to come with him, but not good time, something told it to stay. Now good time?_

_A pause. Nothing holding It back. It jumped out the hole._

_The floor feels different, It thought. New, but not. Something moved in the corner of Its eye. More big things! Danger!_

_**WAIT! **_Another voice said._ It stopped and looked. New things not big, they even smaller than It, so they weaker than It? It waited. The-one-that-was-slightly-bigger-but-still-smaller-than-It pointed something at It, a weapon!_

_It jumped, aiming for its neck. __**Don't Kill! **_the voice said again. _Too late, too fast! It thought, gonna hit! It moved Its head in mid-air, still gonna hit bigger-but-smaller-one, but it would not kill it._

_It wouldn't kill it, but neither would it let Itself get hurt. It grabbed the weapon and broke it._

_Then It heard another new noise. Loud rumbling. Big-Bot-with-Big-Weapon! Dangerous, get away. It ran into a new tunnel.

* * *

_

While it had taken Optimus, Jazz, and Perceptor a while to make it from where they had cut their door to the bridge of the ship, it took Optimus considerably less time to make the return trip.

When he finally made it, he was pleased to see that both humans were alive and in one piece, though Colonel Sharp looked a little worse for wear. Director Irving was also helping him to stand up.

"Are you all right, Colonel Sharp, Director Irving?" queried Optimus as he transformed and surveyed the area. Nothing looked any different from when he had last seen the humans. _Maybe whatever he had been chasing hadn't come down this way? _Thought Optimus, _but then, why was Irving helping Colonel Sharp stand up?_

"Yeah, we're all right," started Irving, dusting himself off as Sharp did the same, "but what was that thing that came out of there?"

"I'm not sure. Tell me what happened and I might be able to figure it out."

"We were just waiting for you guys to come back out, when we heard footsteps. It sounded like you guys, but way too small. We weren't too sure what to do when something jumped out. Colonel Sharp fired at it, but it jumped on him. Then we heard you coming and it jumped off him. It took off that way." Irving pointed towards the exit of the mine. "Do you think it was one of the ship's defence systems, or maybe a drone?"

"I am not sure. It was not something that I've seen before. All I can say is that it is most definitely not part of this ship's defence system and it wasn't a drone either."

"And why's that?" retorted Colonel Sharp. "It nearly bit my hand off! If it wasn't part of some defence system, then why would it have attacked at all?"

"If it had been part of the ship's defence mechanisms, it wouldn't have left the ship in the first place, and it didn't behave like a drone." Optimus looked down at Colonel Sharp and gestured to something by his foot. "If it had been a drone, Colonel Sharp, it would have killed you, not disarmed you and run off."

Sharp looked at what was near his foot and spotted a lump of metal that he barely recognized as his handgun.

"Director Irving, are there any exits out of here besides the elevator that we took?" Optimus continued.

"Yes. There are several elevators., We also have an emergency tunnel that leads to the surface, but it's not big enough to allow anything larger than a VW Beetle through," explained Director Irving. "We only use it to evacuate the mine if something happens to the elevators."

Optimus thought about what his next course of action would be.

"Director Irving, how long would it take someone without a plan of the mine to reach the emergency exit?"

"Depends. If they managed to avoid all the new tunnels, not long, but if they don't, they'll only hit dead-end after dead-end. Most of the old tunnels loop towards the emergency exit at some point. Wouldn't be much of a safety feature if only one tunnel led towards it."

"All right. Colonel Sharp, Director Irving, I would suggest that we head up to the surface. I have a plan. I've sent a message to Jazz and Perceptor with the details, but I cannot communicate with my Autobots above ground through this bedrock. We do not know exactly what we are dealing with, so it would be safer for you at the surface."

Before Colonel Sharp could open his mouth to argue about once again being left behind, Optimus started walking towards the elevator, leaving the humans to catch up to him.

* * *

_Newplace was different from Metalplace. Up-floor was lower and side-floors were closer, that was good, made him feel less small, but it felt different. Not hard like metal place, more crumbly and soft, which wasn't good, but wasn't bad, just different. Smell wasn't sharp, like in metalplace, smelled softer, fuller, better, but too much._

_It still wanted out, though. Newplace wasn't good place for it. It didn't know what Goodplace would feel/look/smell like, but it didn't feel/look/smell like this._

_What it did know, however, was that Newplace would lead to Goodplace. Eventually.

* * *

_

Once Optimus was close enough to the surface to hail the twins, he opened a comlink.

"Optimus to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, do you read me?"

"Sunstreaker here," was the sullen reply from the golden Lamborghini Diablo.

"Sideswipe here. We read you, Optimus," responded the more outgoing red Lamborghini Murcielago. "You guys find anything interesting down below?"

"That and more. Sideswipe, I need you to turn off power to all of the elevators. Sunstreaker, I need you to head to the following coordinates. There you'll find an exit from the mine," Optimus ordered. "We found something in there. Jazz and Perceptor are going to try and herd it towards the exit."

The twins headed off toward their respective destinations, excited to finally have something more interesting to do than watch clouds float lazily by.

"What kind of something did you find, Optimus?" asked Sunstreaker as he transformed and raced towards his target. "The kind of something you want us to shoot or the kind of something you want alive?"

Optimus sighed tiredly. He didn't really need to breathe, but it was a habit he had picked up during his time on the planet. "Alive, Sunstreaker. Unless you or someone else is in mortal danger, you are not allowed to shoot it."

"Fine."

"Optimus out," and switched off his comlink.

Optimus turned off his comlink with the twins. He looked at the two humans standing at his feet as the elevator finally made it to the surface.

"Director Irving, in light of our current situation, I would request that you vacate the area until we have the situation under control."

"No problem!" The human laughed nervously. He was anxious to leave and if he never saw another Transformer ever again it would be too soon. Once the elevator doors opened, the director took off towards a waiting car. As he drove off Optimus turned his attention to the remaining human.

"Oh no, you're not pushing me aside this time, Optimus. I'm staying." Colonel Sharp put his hands on his hips and stood his ground. "I may be smaller than you and not as strong, but I'm more agile and I've been told that I have decent aim."

Optimus looked at the human closely, looking for any signs that the human was even the least bit hesitant. "All right, Sharp. You can stay, but only on the condition that you follow my orders."

* * *

_It was being followed. It couldn't see the followers, but It knew without a doubt that the followers were the Big Things. It despised having to run, but it didn't have much choice in the matter. They were bigger than It, they had weapons and It didn't, They most likely knew the layout better than it did, too._

_Some half-functioning part of Its processor told It that it would be best to avoid a confrontation and come back once It had a better idea of what It was up against._

_Until then, all It could do was avoid being caught at all costs.

* * *

_

"He's heading your way, Jazz!" Commed Perceptor, "He just went into the C4 tunnel, I won't fit in there."

"Gotcha. I'll try to cut him off," replied Jazz, as he headed toward the aforementioned tunnel.

He spotted his target just as he came speeding around a bend in the main tunnel.

It noticed Jazz a second later and, thankfully, started running towards the only open exit in the mine. Just as planned! Thought Jazz.

"'Ceptor, Optimus, he's heading towards the exit!" Commed Jazz, finally close enough to the surface that his signal penetrated the rock with relative ease.

"Copy that, Jazz," was Optimus's reply. "You and Perceptor try to keep him from heading back into the mine once he comes out. If it looks like he's going to try and get back in, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are in position to stun him. I want to know what we're dealing with before we cause any permanent damage."

"No problemo!"

* * *

_Not good, It thought, this is not good._

_It had just now figured out what the Big Things were trying to do. They were trying to herd it to somewhere. The battle program in Its processor told It that it was in trouble, but there was nothing that it could do at the moment. It voiced Its frustration as it stared into the bright light that was Outside. There was no choice left, but if It had to go down, it would go down fighting, at least.

* * *

_

Sideswipe heard the target before he saw it. It sounded almost like a smaller version of Grimlock when he was mad.

Before he could point out his observation to his twin, however, the target came barreling out of the mine as if Unicron himself was on its tail.

Whatever it was, it was small, but wicked fast. Even in Battle-mode, Sideswipe didn't get a good look at it until it stopped, rather suddenly, in the middle of the quarry, face-to-face with Optimus Prime.

At least, it would have been face-to-face, if the target had been taller. As it was, it barely reached Optimus' knee joint.

Based on looks, the target only reinforced Sideswipe's impression of a mini-Grimlock. While its body structure wasn't as smooth as Grimlock's, it looked rather skeletal; it was also more streamlined than the bulky Autobot Dinosaur.

Sideswipe watched through the scope of his rifle as Optimus tried to communicate with the target in their native Cybertronian.

"We mean you no harm," said Optimus, trying to look as unthreatening as possible. "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

The target didn't respond at first. It just tilted its head, like he'd seen the canine companions of humans do when they were confused.

"Optimus?" was the hesitant reply from the target, in an oddly accented Cybertronian. "Autobot?" It then turned its skeletal head off to the side, where Colonel Sharp had taken up a position where he could give aid without risking being squished in a giant robot death match.

"Human." This time the target spoke in an odd-hiss-like English.

"Yes, Colonel Sharp is a human," said Optimus. Sideswipe only partially succeeded in hiding his surprise. He had not expected the target to even know what a human was, let alone speak a human language.

Just as Optimus was about to ask for its name, Sunstreaker shouted a warning.

"Optimus! We've got company, Decepticon Seekers coming in fast at 9 o'clock!"

The large Autobot barely had enough time to pull out his ion gun when he was hit by the first strafing run. He looked up to see Starscream, followed closely by the rest of his trine.

Optimus successfully avoided the next strafing; this time fired by Thundercracker, and fired his own weapon twice at the Seeker.

The Decepticon jet dived to avoid the shots, but this brought him within range of Sideswipe and his jet pack.

"Looks like it's time for some jet judo!" whooped the red twin, who launched himself into the air and onto the top of the jet. He grabbed onto the stabilizers to keep him from falling off.

"GET OFF, YOU AUTOSCUM CRETIN!" Snarled Thundercracker, rolling and bucking to try to dislodge the Autobot.

"Ha! You'll have to do better than that to get rid of me!" shouted Sideswipe gleefully, manipulating the stabilizers on the jet's back to steer a bit. Unfortunately, he was so concentrated on Thundercracker, that he forgot that there was a third Seeker attacking them: Skywarp.

Said Seeker was currently taking aim on the seemingly suicidal mech that was using his trine-mate as a toy. As he did so, however, Sunstreaker came to his brother's rescue.

With one well aimed hit, Sunstreaker sent the third seeker spiralling out of control.

Finally growing bored with his uncooperative ride, Sideswipe decided that he had had enough Jet Judo for one cycle. Since he was several hundred feet to high to land safely if he jumped, he decided to see just how good Thundercracker was at emergency landings without his engines.

At the same time that the twins were dealing with the Seekers, Optimus was busy dealing with the Decepticon Second-in-Command, who had landed and transformed into his bipedal form.

"What are you doing here, Starscream?" demanded Optimus, trying to keep an eye on both the Decepticon and the small figure that was now between them.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to destroy you and claim this area for the Decepticons!" screeched Starscream, weapon aimed at the Autobot leader. "Once you're out of the way, we will take control of this planet, make the inhabitants our slaves and using this planet as our launch point, we can take our rightful place as masters of the galaxy!"

Starscream then turned his attention to the small figure between them.

"We'll even be able to find a use for your latest pet." Starscream aimed his weapon at the small figure between them, who was snarling at the jet rather impressively."That is, if he survives the cycle."

Before he could fire, though, Optimus Prime dove at the seeker, being careful to avoid the creature between them. Unfortunately, as soon as both mechs hit the ground, dust filled the air filled the air around them, leaving them both blind.

Optimus hoped that the smaller being at least had the presence of mind to leave the immediate area. He didn't want to imagine the damage that would be done if either mech stepped on him by accident.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, before he had to once again focus all his attention on Starscream.

Using his own momentum against him, Starscream used his legs to push the larger mech off him and rolled to his feet, scanners working overtime to try and find his target.

It was unfortunate that at that particular moment, in the skies above them, Sideswipe had decided to try to land his impromptu ride and Starscream just happened to be in the way.

For the second time that cycle, Starscream was tackled. This time both he and his tackler, Thundercracker, were sent tumbling into the wall of the mine, causing a minor landslide and knocking them both temporarily offline.

Skywarp saw the two of them go sprawling below and quickly warped to their location. "I can't wait to tell Megatron how I had to save the afts of these two incompetents yet again!" he gloated, seizing his two incapacitated trine-mates. The next moment, his teleportation powers whisked them all away.

Once he was sure that the Decepticons had indeed left the vicinity, Optimus Prime stood up and took a good look at the damage the battle had caused.

He turned to see if Colonel Sharp was unharmed, when he noticed that the place the human had taken refuge had been covered by the recent mini landslide. He saw no trace of the human anywhere.

Optimus rushed towards the landslide, comming his soldiers as he ran. "Everyone, come here quickly! I fear Colonel Sharp may have been buried in the debris."

Using his scanners, he was able locate the human. The weak signal worried him, but whether that was from the rocks interfering with his scanners or something else, Optimus didn't know.

Within seconds the twins arrived and together they set about trying to locate Colonel Sharp. It wasn't long before they hit something that wasn't rock.

What they found, however, wasn't Colonel Sharp. It was the creature they had discovered earlier and had been all but forgotten in the chaos of their short battle.

The first part that was exposed was its back, which seemed to be curled over something. Working quickly, they soon exposed its entire body, which appeared to be temporarily offlined.

Gently, they pulled it out, and underneath it, they found the unconscious, but uninjured body of their missing human.

"Sideswipe, once they come back to the surface, I want you and Jazz to bring Colonel Sharp to the nearest human medical centre and brief them on what happened here," ordered Optimus Prime, gently cradling the strange creature in his giant hands. Sunstreaker held the human while his twin transformed into vehicle mode. "The rest of us will return to the base. We'll take our companion to Ratchet. Whatever his origins, he risked himself to save our ally. We shall give him whatever help we can."

Placing their guest gently into his trailer, Optimus transformed and connected to it.

"Autobots, roll out!"

* * *

AN; So, what do you guys think? You like? Just so you know, we are now two-thirds of the way through this fic. What do you guys think so far? Are all the G1 characters relatively in character? I didn't grow up that series, so if they seem a little OOC, please forgive me.

And for those who reviewed my last chapter, I'll reply to you within a day or two, I just got distracted around the house. We're remodeling!

Or rather, my mother is remodeling, I'm just doing demo! Which is why I'm posting this kinda late. What post-teen _doesn't_ want to destroy part of their house?

Next chapter will be up next year, then that's it for this fic! Why am I so sure? Because my next target is Useful!


	3. Ark

Chapter 3 Ark

Optimus watched with mild interest as Jazz and Perceptor started working on the computer console he and his team had retrieved earlier that day.

The only other thing had had taken with them was currently in the medbay, under the watchful optic of his Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet.

"Whoa," said Jazz suddenly, who almost looked as he were about to burst into a fit of giggles.

"What is it, Jazz?" Asked the curious Optimus. "Have you made it past the firewall already?"

"Oh, not even close, Boss-bot," chuckled Jazz. "I've barely scratched the surface! Whatever is in here, the cons _did not_ want anyone to get it! This'll be a fun one to crack!" Jazz was rubbing his hands together gleefully, anxious to show off his skills as a hacker. "It'll take us a while to get through. If you're gonna wait, I suggest you find something to keep yourself occupied, O-P."

"That won't be necessary, Jazz. I think I'll go see how Ratchet and First Aid are doing with our guest. Report when you find anything of interest."

"Will do, Boss-bot!"

* * *

If Ratchet had been a human instead of an Autobot, he most likely would have been suffering from a migraine, or at least a headache of epic proportions.

Luckily, Ratchet was an Autobot and thus did _not _suffer from the human ailment known as headaches. Instead, he felt his processors slowly heat up from working over-time on the conundrum posed by their guest, who was, at the moment, offline and resting on a medbay table that was ridiculously large for him, covered in as many wires and sensors as he dared to put on such a small frame.

As far as he was able to determine, with all the tools and scanners available to him in the medbay, their guest was vaguely of Cybertronian design, though it wasn't a style he was familiar with, he also had a Spark, albeit one smaller then was usual, and that the frame was made up of some super-advanced alloy that some rather... interesting properties.

He had no clue as to its origin, its age, or even if it was sentient or not!

He had originally been curious when Optimus had first called to tell the Autobots what his team had discovered, but now curiosity was giving way to frustration.

Even Wheeljack didn't have any theories, though that was probably due to the fact that there weren't many tests a bot could run with only one hand and one optic in working order. The other hand had been blown off from his earlier accident and a flying piece of shrapnel had taken out his optic.

Behind Ratchet, First Aid was busy looking at the readouts from the latest scans.

"We're getting nothing new from the scans, Ratchet. His frame appears to be partially built of cybertronium," informed the young Protectobot. "But as for all the other components, our scanners aren't powerful enough to penetrate the outer layers without running the risk of frying the internals."

"Fine. We'll send a sample to Perceptor, his lab is better equipped to perform the kind of scans we need." Said an exasperated CMO.

"Would you like me to bring it now?"

"The faster it gets there the faster we'll get our answers."

Nodding in agreement, the young Protectobot gathered the necessary materials and headed towards the exit of the room, nearly bumping into Optimus as the Autobot leader entered the medbay.

"Oh! Sorry, Optimus, I didn't see you there! Are you here to see the patient?"

"Yes, actually. Have you found anything about him?" Asked the curious Prime.

"Only more questions," responded First Aid. "Ratchet could probably tell you more. I'm taking a few samples to Perceptors' lab. Hopefully that'll help us to get at least a few answers."

"Very well," said Optimus. "Perceptor is busy with Jazz, but I don't think he'll mind to be given something to do."

"Jazz is hogging all the work on breaking the computers firewall?" Asked a grinning First Aid.

"Just about."

"Well, I'm sure this'll cheer him up, then!"

Optimus let the young Autobot leave the medbay without any other comments and turned his attention to the remaining medic and the engineer in the room.

"I'm assuming that you don't have anything to report, then?" Queried Optimus as the medbay doors shut behind him.

Ratchet snorted, it was a habit he had picked up from one of the human TV shows he had grown fond of.

"We have plenty to report; the only problem is that the report has a whole lot of questions and no answers!"

"You haven't discovered anything?"

At this point Wheeljack decided to add his two cents.

"Well, we did discover that he has some connection to Cybertronians." Wheeljack indicated to the view screen that was filled with the technical specs that they had been able to gather from their scans. "His frame has some parts that look to be of Autobot origin and some others that borrow Decepticon design. Scaled down drastically, of course."

"His internal repair systems are also advanced beyond anything I've ever seen." Said Ratchet, picking up a laser scalpel from a small tray filled with medical instruments.

"Oh?"

"He appears to have near-instantaneous repair capabilities. Watch."

With the delicate hand of a master surgeon, Ratchet slowly moved the scalpel and created a long, shallow cut, barely more than a scratch, along one of the smooth surfaces of their guests legs.

It took Optimus a few astroseconds to process what happened. Within the time it took Ratchet to finish his cut, the first part to be was already closing, as if it had never been cut in the first place.

"Amazing, I've never seen anything like this. Have you, Ratchet?" Asked and awed Optimus Prime.

"I've seen something similar, but it wasn't anything remotely close to this. It's hectovorns beyond what we have now," said Ratchet as he placed the scalpel were it belonged. "Would certainly prove useful around here sometimes."

Optimus nodded, having imagined how useful it would be with some of his more...adventurous Autobots.

"If he has such fast repair capabilities, then why is he still offline?"

"In my opinion? The slagger is just stubborn. What little I was able to access from his neural net indicates that everything fully operational. Sleeping Beauty seems to be content to keep sleeping. And before you ask, no I will not force a start up."

Before Optimus could respond, the medbay doors opened to allow a grinning Bumblebee and Spike, a snickering Jazz and silent Hound to enter before closing behind them.

The three mechs stared at the latter. After several astro-seconds, Ratchet voiced what he and his fellow officers were trying to process.

"Hound," he started slowly. "Why is your arm in a bandage?"

At that point, Spike erupted into full-blown laughter, nearly dropping off his perch on Bumblebees' shoulder.

Optimus and Ratchet shared a look.

"Hound?" Optimus prompted.

"Well, you see, Bee and I were on patrol with Spike. I was taking some readings on the edge of a ridge when it destabilized." Reported Hound.

"And what does that have to do with the bandage?" Asked an irritated Ratchet once it was clear that the scout wasn't going to continue with his story.

"It's because when ridge went down, he went down with it. Nearly landed on top of a troupe of girl scouts," said Bumblebee, filling in for his embarrassed friend. "No one has hurt, but somehow the scouts blackmailed hound into letting them practice emergency first aid on him."

"And he hasn't removed the bandage because...?"

"The girls did such a good job, we can't undo it."

"I see." Said Optimus, who wisely decided not to comment as Ratchet made quick work of the bandage, setting it on the table across from their guest, the same one that Bumblebee placed Spike on.

With so many large 'bots around underfoot was not a place to be.

Optimus then focused his attention on the bot had had given a job to only a few breems ago.

"I assume you've made some progress with the console, Jazz?"

"Yes and no, Big bot. I managed to crack the first layers of the firewall, Perceptor's having a go at it right now." Shrugged Jazz. "Thought it was time to take a break when I heard this trio walking by."

"What's that?" Asked Spike suddenly.

The leader of the Autobots looked down to see the young human pointing towards where their guest curled up in stasis lock.

"That, Spike, is one half of the puzzle we just picked up recently." Optimus watched as Spike got as close to the other table as he could, ready to catch the young human, who, as a species, were not often aware of the dangers around them, such as table edges.

His caution was proven accurate when Spike stepped to close to the edge and over balanced. He gently reached over, grabbed the back of the boys' shirt, and tugged him a bit from the edge.

"Careful, Spike," said Jazz, in a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't think Ratchet would appreciate the irony of you injuring yourself in a medbay."

"Indeed, I would not," growled Ratchet, turned his attention back to their guest, and frowned.

"What's wrong, Ratchet?" Asked Bumblebee, looking at the COM.

"Just thinking I need to get my optics checked out."

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

"It's because it looks like our guest moved."

Everyone turned to look at the figure on the table, who looked the same as before.

"Like I said -

_**BOOM**_

Everything in the medbay rattled and its occupants found themselves fighting for balance. The first shock was soon followed by a second, then a third before silence descended on the Ark.

"Optimus to Ops, what happened?" Demanded Optimus over the officer channel

"Ironhide here; it seems the cons aren't very happy about your latest outing."

"How many Decepticons are there?"

"From what I can get on sensors, quite a few. Mostly seekers, but there are a lot of ground troops as well."

"Very well, send Prowl and Bluestreak to rendezvous with me at the south entrance, send all other personnel to the main entrance." Optimus turned to all the mechs in the room. "Everyone, come with me."

As one, they turned towards the exist.

"Ummm," came a little voice, "what about me?"

As one, the Autobots froze in place, turned on their heel and faced to young human, abandoned on the medical table.

"Spike, for your own safety, I recommend you stay here in the Med-Bay," said Optimus, as Ratchet took out something from the same place he kept his non-medical tools. "Wheeljack created this communicator several orns ago for yourself and your father. It will connect you with the nearest Autobot, but I recommend you use it only in emergencies. It only has a small battery and limited range. Use it wisely."

Spike nodded as the medic handed him the communicator.

In Ratchets hand, the device had appeared minuscule, but in once in hand, the device looked to be just slightly larger than a laptop, only lacking the convenient handle. It was rather non-descript, with the exception of the Face of Primus emblazoned on a corner.

"To activate it, all you need to do is press the symbol."

Spike nodded, hefting the communicator as the Autobots left him alone with their offlined guest.

As another blast shook the medbay, which nearly caused the young human to topple off the table, Spike decided that underneath the table was probably a safer place to be than on top.

* * *

_System status; rebooted. Hardware status; fully functional. Energon levels; within satisfactory levels. Location; undetermined. Energy signatures detected; small, bipedal organic, no weapons detected. _

_Scanning...Scanning..._

_Cybertronian energy signatures approaching._

_Recommended course of action; continue with observation._

* * *

As stealthy as the organic he had based his alt-mode on, Ravage prowled through the air filtration system of the grounded Autobot ship and disabled all security systems he came across.

He stopped as he arrived at a cross section and scrutinized the map his master, Soundwave, had downloaded into his processor before he sent him on the mission.

To retrieve everything that the Autobots had removed from their fallen ship or destroy it if it could not be salvaged. He stretched the spark-bond he held with his creator and siblings, to see if they had had any more luck than him.

Little more than a nanoklik later _found computer_ Rumbled sent over the bond, _only one thing left_ sent Frenzy.

_On it,_ replied Ravage, as he once again examined his map, though this time with a particular destination in mind.

Where else would the soft-hearted bring something possibly alive than the med-bay.

Route planned out, he took off at a silent lope.

* * *

_Warning: energy signature of Decepticon origin approaching. Recommend initiating full system start-up._

* * *

Spike felt his heart skip as the metal plate that covered the air vent clattered to the floor, closely follow by something considerably larger and undoubtedly meaner. A quick glance around the corner of the box he had been resting against was all that it took to confirm that gut feeling.

_Great_, thought Spike as he quietly inched his way from where he could faintly hear the Decepticon prowl around, _just what we needed._ He chanced one last look around the corner, confirming that the panther-like Con wasn't interested in anything in his general direction and then slowly, _quietly_, let his hand slid over to the communicator.

His hand was just brushing the button when he felt a puff of warm air across the back of his neck.

He froze.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, _squishy_," came the whispery voice of the Con in his ear. "Now, be a good little organic and back away from your toy."

Without a word, the human did as he was told and backed up until his head connected with a metal snout.

"Good squishy," said the whispery voice in his ear, " but I think it's time for your nap."

"Huh?" Spike barely had time to turn around before a large clawed paw hit him on the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

AN: Well, I did promise I'd get this chapter out the year after the other one was posted, right? Sorry for the huge delay, though, I had...errr.. technical issues with my computer. Technical as in my computer decided to become a Decepticon on me and corrupt almost all of my written work that I had saved on a USB drive.

The same USB drive that contained most of this chapter, almost all of my notes, as well as a paper I was writing for the science course that I needed to pass if I wanted to go to University before I hit twenty-five.

Needless to say, I was _**pissed**_. Not the kind of pissed that allows me to write, mind you, the kind of pissed that caused me to throw my key out the window and run over it a few times with my car and then throw the pieces into a bon fire. Don't ask what happened to the computer, I'm not talking.

Also, I know I promised that this would only be three chapters long, but as I was writing this, I knew that if I tried to fit everything I wanted on this last chapter, I'd never get it done. So here is part one, part two is coming out sometime. Wish me luck.


	4. Endeavor

Chapter 4 Endeavour

** AN; if you've already read this chapter, skip to the last bit, I've added a new part and epilogue will be up in a few hours**

Ravage gave up the facade of searching around the Medbay for his target as he heard the fleshling crumple to the floor. Foolish of it, to think that he wouldn't have known it had been hiding there.

The panther-like Decepticon barely glanced at his little brother as he clambered his way onto the table where their target laid. instead, he not-so-gently manoeuvred the young human into his mouth.

Common sense told him that hostages were better kept close at hand.

With little effort, he joined his brother with a jump, finally getting a glimpse of his target.

It was smaller than him, but not by much, its only visible weapons the sharp claws that ended its four appendages and a tri-pronged tail. In all, it made for a fearsome-looking beast, one he was sure Soundwave might appreciate adding to his assortment.

He sent his brother his proposal over their link, who nodded and seized it. Or at least tried to. The mini-cassette had barely touched it before it uncoiled and sent the twin into contact with the far wall.

With a snarl, Ravage released his hostage and tackled the target.

_He could virtually feel the young human fall to the ground, and he practically leapt up at that moment, but his logic-processors quickly pointed out that the boy was merely unconscious, not dead. Unbidden, memories of _firedeathprotectshameglory_ flood his mind, overwhelming his sensors._

_Memories of Maximals, Predacons, and a war yet to come, a war long finished a war in process. Of dying, twice, to defend a species that might one day develop into the race known as humans, who would ally themselves with the sworn enemies of his ancestors, who would help defeat _Unicron_. _

_He remembered betraying Megatron, betraying Optimus. The shame, of betraying a great leader, and the harmony he felt when he had regained the honour he had lost, and the knowledge that the people in another life he would have called _friends _were proud of him._

_At that moment, he knew exactly who he was and that he was finally free to decide his own destiny..._

_...though that would have to wait until after a few parasites had been taken care of._

Unseen by the mini-cassettes behind him, Dinobot smirked.

Spike didn't know whether it was the unholy screech of metal-on-metal that had woke him up, or the earthquake-like shuddering that surrounded him, but one-moment he had been blissfully unaware of the danger, the next he felt his heart hit a speed that would have shamed a squirrel on crack as he became aware of the battle not five feet from his position.

A quick turn of his head revealed that Ravage and whatever it was the Autobots had brought back earlier were going at it. It was hard to tell who was winning, between the blur of _redblackwhite_, all he hoped was that they would be at it long enough for him to reach the communicator and get at least Autobots aware that some of Soundwaves minions were in the medbay.

Without a look back, he made a mad dash for the way off the table, barely giving a thought to how he had gotten up there in the first place. He had long ago learned that when weird things happened to him, the blame automatically went to the Cons.

Thankfully, the communicator was where he had left it.

He pressed down on the button until he heard a faint click, followed by a short his of static.

"-ing down really hard on the south side, Optimus!" Yelled Bluestreak, which nearly caused the speakers to blow. "I can't take them down fast enough!"

There was a pause, "Back up would be very much appreciated, Ironhide!"

"Bluestreak?" Prompted Spike, hoping to get the gunners attention before something else happened.

"Spike?! Are you okay? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Bluestreak, slow down! I'm fine, but there are Cons in the medbay, and our little friend is fighting him and I don't want to be alone when one of them wins!"

"Oh, don't worry little fleshling, I won't leave you alone."

Spike instinctively rolled, grabbing the communicator as he did so, to avoid the hit he knew was coming and felt the faintest trace of metal brush against the back of his head.

"Call you back in a bit, Blue, I got more company!" Spike twisted so that he was facing the Con. He didn't know if it was Frenzy or Rumble, all he knew was that he was blue and not very friendly.

He used the communicator as an impromptu shield, where it showed its worth by not breaking under the stress of the first blow, but Spiked judged from the white noise that came through the speakers that the internals hadn't fared as well.

A second blow that made the bones in his whole body shudder made him reconsider the whole shield idea. With a war cry, he threw the demolished communicator at the surprised Con and used confusion to run and search for a better weapon or, better yet, an Autobot to step on the little pest. He wasn't in the position to be choosy, if he wanted to be honest with himself.

Over and over he rolled with his opponent, using powerful jaws and razor claws to deal as much damage as he could, heedless that his foe was doing the same to him.

He was a Transmetal II; his flesh wounds would heal before Ravage could get a chance to inflict more. It had taken him a few clicks, but Dinobot recognized the Con from the few data-tracks he had been able to acquire on the black market before his ill-fated adventure had begun.

With a heave, Dinobot grabbed the larger Con by the neck and threw him clean off the table. Roaring, he jumped on his prey, crushing the stunned mini-cassette beneath his weight. He landed with one foot on the haunch and his other foot clamped tightly around Ravages' neck.

Neither one moved, except to twist their heads to look each other in the optic. Dinobot gave the cat a crocodile smile.

_Frenzy,_ whispered the silky-smooth voice of Ravage through the spark-bond shared between the siblings, _if you are done playing 'Catch the Squishy'_, _I could use your help!_

The blue Con nearly tripped over his own feet. Ravage? Asking for help? He nearly cackled with glee, but with more willpower than any of his siblings believed he possessed, he refrained from doing so and instead turned to look at what kind of trouble his eldest brother was in that would require aid.

To his shock, Frenzy saw his older brother at the mercy of their original target, claws ready to tear out vital bits of circuitry from torso or rip off the black bots' head at a whim. That would not do.

He removed his gun from its subspace pocket; took careful aim at the head. One shot was hopefully all it would take to render it unconscious so that they could finally leave this slag pit of a base.

With well-honed skill, the mini-cassette took aim and fired.

However, the shot did not get the reaction Frenzy had been hoping for. Instead of falling off his older brother into blissful unconsciousness, the mini-Grimlock terror took the full force of the blast with barely more than a quickly healed scorch mark.

Its foot tightened around Ravages neck, Frenzy could hear the toughened casing creak under the pressure, and turned its skeletal head towards the mini-cassette and smirked.

"Bad move." It said and kicked Ravage out of the way and charged.

"I agree!" Frenzy yelled as he tried to throw himself out of the way of the charging enemy.

He had barely regained his footing when heard the second charge. The raptor hit him head-on, sending him flying and crashing into yet another wall.

"Finished already? And here I thought the Decepticons were supposed to be the _superior_ race." Taunted the approaching bot. Frenzy tried to come up with a retort, but the damage reports flooding his HUD were more important than witty retorts. At least, according to his sub-processors

_Damn he hits hard! _Frenzy raged as he kept a close optic on his target while they circled each other. With the speed that earned him his name, Frenzy ripped another gun from subspace and pointed it at his now frozen target.

"Now," the 'Con stated, lifting himself up from his crouch somewhat smoothly, though he kept one hand pressed against the energon leak he had acquired during his previous scuffle. "Let's finish this business, shall we? I have other things I'd rather be doing."

He set his gun to the highest setting. He vividly remembered what a lower setting had done earlier thank-you-very-much, and he had no intention of an encore. There was no way something so small should hit that hard! It just wasn't fair!

Especially if the message he felt from his spark-twin over the bond was correct and Autobot reinforcements were on their way.

"I agree," hissed the bot. "I grow tired of thisss...skirmish. Dinobot; Maximise!"

_Oh you are fragg-_erk!

Crawling out of corner he had not-so-gently wedged himself in, Spike watched with wide eyes as the now-transformed raptor tore through Soundwaves Mini-Cassette. Quite literally, as he watched a dismembered arm fly past his hiding spot.

It would only after the dust had settled, and what was left of the cons had escaped, would the young human realize that he was now all alone with his saviour. At least, he hoped it was his saviour. He didn't want to imagine the alternative.

He watched as the bot transformed back into his raptor form and turned to face him. Neither moved until Spike gathered his nerve and slowly approached, hands held in front of him in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner.

"Hello," Spike said slowly and stopped a few feet away, "my name is Spike Witwicky. I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. I owe you one."

The bot snorted and responded in oddly accented English.

"I didn't do it to save _you_, boy. You can keep your debts to yourself."

For his part, Dinobot was furiously trying to recall what he knew about the history of the Autobots done during their time on Earth.

The 'official' version the Maximal High Council had released boiled down to 'Bots and 'Cons crashed on Earth, spent many vorns in stasis, they awoke to find the planet ruled by humans, the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, Unicron attacks and is defeated, the Autobots leave Earth and return to Cybertron, the end.

Not the most valuable information for time-displaced Transmetal-II former Predacon.

Unfortunately, the information on the black-market added very little, except to say that the Autobots hadn't _quite_ left Earth on as friendly terms as the High Council had let the general population believe. Though the details on why were impossible to find.

Dinobot was pulled out of his musings when the door to the medbay _swooshed_ open and a horde of armed, angry, over-protective and overly-colourful Autobots came flooding in. He could _feel_ the processor-ache awaiting him.

"Spike!"

"Bumblebee! Bluestreak!"

The smaller, yellow bot rushed towards the young human and scooped him up in a crushing hug. Dinobot stared at others cautiously and the Autobots returned the favour. Neither side reached for weapons. Yet.

The face-off lasted until the Autobots parted and allowed a large red and blue mech through.

Dinobot tensed and missed the feel of his tail blade in his hand. The histories had never painted the famous Optimus Prime as anything other than a wise and courageous leader, but the raptor was well aware that history was written by the victors.

"Ratchet, if I may borrow your office? I wish to speak to our guest in private," he waited until his CMO nodded in agreement. "Then please, if you will see to Spike and our injured. Those of you not in need of immediate medical assistance, please see to the repairs of the Ark and the security system."

He turned towards his small guest. "If you would please follow me? I believe there is much that we need to discuss."

With limited options, Dinobot transformed back into his raptor form and followed the enormous Autobot to a smaller room. The office was utilitarian, with very few personal effects and the only thing that stood out was scaffold of dubious strength that would allow someone the size of a human to reach the desk without much trouble.

He turned an eye towards the Prime, who had managed to fit into the chair made for a smaller bot.

Back to the scaffold that seemed to sway in a non-existent breeze, back to the Prime sitting behind the desk, waiting to see what he would do.

With an irritated snort, he crouched and leaped neatly onto the desk.

Optimus stared at the smaller mech, mildly impressed with the ease at which the raptor accomplished a feat he doubted even the most acrobatic of his Autobots could achieve. His creator must have spent orns on the skeletal structure alone.

With some effort, the Autobot leader forced himself back to his task. Best to start with the basics, if he wanted everything to proceed as smoothly as possible.

"I believe we have not been properly introduced," started the large bot, placing his hands on the desk so that they could be seen. It was obvious the raptor had warrior programming, and by showing that he was unarmed, Optimus hoped to put him at ease. "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. You are currently inside my ship, the Ark, which is currently located on the Planet Earth.

"You have already met one of the native inhabitants of this planet, a Human who goes by the name of Spike. I would like to thank you for saving him earlier. While I doubt the Decepticons would have outright killed the boy, they would not have been gentle with him."

The raptor scowled. "As I said before, I did not do it to save the boy. My reasons are my own, as is my name. You may call me whatever you wish. I am not an Autobot, but I am not a Decepticon either."

"I see," Optimus hesitated; the smaller mechs' behaviour had been slightly different than what he had predicted. Was he wrong? He hoped not. He has many questions that he wanted answers to, and his only source of answer right in front of him. The only thing to do was to stick to his plan.

"I must admit; I am curious about why someone who claims to not be a Decepticon was found of their flagship. The same flagship that was found on a different continent than it should have been, even taking into account the shifting of this planets crust."

The raptor said nothing, so Optimus continued.

"I have some theories, but there has been nothing to concrete as of yet.

"Ever since waking from stasis on this planet, I have felt…something. I do not know what it is. I believe it has something to do with what happened onboard the Ark during the time everyone on the ship was locked in stasis. I also believe that you are involved somehow."

The raptor snorted in disbelief. "This is my first time on your ship, Optimus Prime. UI highly doubt that I had anything to do with what may or may not have happened."

"And I believe that. But tell, do the words Beast Wars and Optimus Primal mean anything to you?"

Optimus watched as the raptor gave him the same look as before, with only the slightest twitch of his tail betraying his shock.

"Do they, Dinobot?"

For several seconds neither so much as twitched a servo.

Finally, the small raptor let out a deliberate hiss/snort as his tail swished side-to-side, as he had seen earth cats do.

"It would seem," he said eventually, "that you are aware of things that you should not be. Very well. I will answer what I can, but I will tell you now: I will answer all of them."

Optimus considered for several seconds.

"Understood. I imagine that there is something you want in exchange for this information?"

The raptor gave a smile similar to what Sparkplug had once described as a 'mamba smile'.

"But of course," Dinobot nodded.

With some questions put to rest and more questions raised, Optimus Prime watched with a heavy spark as their small guest leave their base just before the sun would cross over the horizon.

"Are you sure about this, Optimus?" Ratchet asked, the only other Autobot besides Jazz, who was staring at the retreating form of Dinobot. "It's not safe out there, with the Decepticons still active. Not to mention I doubt the planetary politicians will be very pleased to know that we knowingly let loose a Cybertronian of unknown origin and loyalty onto an unknowing populace with no way to track or communicate with him!"

"I am very much aware of that fact, Ratchet."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because," Optimus said as the small bot disappeared from his field of view "he gave me no reason to doubt that he will keep his word, he is a bot of his honour. He paid a high enough price for it."

Optimus ignored the Look that Ratchet was opening giving him as well as the Look that Jazz was secretly giving him.

"Do you think we will ever see him again, Optimus?" His Second ask.

"Time will tell, Jazz." Was all Optimus said, before turning around and heading back towards his quarters, leaving his trusted friends to come up with their own conclusions.

AN; I am unworthy! I'm sorry for not getting this done sooner, but for the pat…err while, my life can easily be summed up as being in a SNAFU. Situation Normal; All Fuck Up.

On the bright side, my new University has a wonderful campus! It's only 227 years old and doesn't look a day older than 126!

Also, to all those who sent reviews and didn't get a response back, I'm doubly sorry. I usually try to write back, but I tend to forget when I get overwhelmed with stuff.

Fun Fact; This fic, not including ANs' is currently ~34 pages long (I have a few page breaks, generally at the end of chapters) and is 11 035 words long!


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